Evangelical Christians - who are they?

Evangelical Christians are followers of the person of Jesus Christ who identify themselves with the reading of the Bible.

Evangelicals believe in the Bible as the word of God and consider faith in Jesus Christ as the basis of salvation and relationship with God.

Evangelical Christians emphasize the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through faith and trust in him as Savior and Lord.

They also emphasize preaching the gospel and spreading the good news of salvation to others.

In terms of religious practices, evangelicals tend to have a strong orientation toward congregational worship, prayer, Bible study and active participation in the faith community.

It is important to note that within evangelical Christianity there is a diversity of denominations and groups, each with its own beliefs and practices.

In summary, evangelical Christians are followers of Christianity who emphasize faith in Jesus Christ, the Bible as the word of God and the importance of evangelism.

Some well-known evangelical denominations include Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Evangelical Lutherans and many more.
As we have just seen, evangelical churches do not form a single institution, but are several organizations that can be classified into large streams called "faiths".

 Each denomination has its own characteristics and factors that arise from how they interpret the Bible, the only sacred text of the Gospel. 

It should be noted that denominations are not formal structures either, but only a type of classification based on the beliefs of each church.
Below, we will look at the six main evangelical denominations, so be prepared to hear some strange names as we learn more about this religion. 

Lutherans
Their beginnings date back to 1517, when priest and university professor Martti Luther publicly opposed, among other things, the sale of discounts by the Catholic Church. An indulgence was a document issued by the church that avoided sins by atonement or punishment, and could even reduce your stay in purgatory after your death.
Speaking out against this idea, which did not please the Catholic authorities, caused a great scandal, so Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Church.
Despite this, he continued to develop other practices condemned at the time, such as translating the Bible and preaching in his mother tongue, German, instead of using Latin, the official language of Catholicism. 

the Anglicans
It originated in 1534 due to a conflict between the Pope and King Henry VIII of England. The latter annulled his marriage without the permission of the Vatican to marry Anne Boleyn.
This did not sit well with the Pope, who dismissed the king.
He never imagined that the king would confiscate all the properties of the Pope.

  Their structure and rituals are very similar to those of Catholicism, but their doctrines are shared with those of the Reformation.

 Presbyterians
The reformation, which began in England in the 16th century, quickly spread to neighboring islands until it reached Scotland, where the priest John Knox became an ally of the crown, creating a common front against the French Catholics and expelling them from the island.
Subsequently, many of its members played an important role in the independence of the United States.
The highest representative of this denomination is the presbytery, or body of elders, from which it derives its name.
They were born in England at the beginning of the 17th century as dissidents from Anglicanism. Baptists
Although political and religious power dictated the rules by which Henry VIII's new church was governed, Puritan factions were dissatisfied with the Catholic influence that the denomination continued to have.
One of these groups, the Baptists, opposed infant baptism and the hierarchical structure of the church. 

Methodists
They were born in England at the beginning of the 18th century by the Wesley brothers, young Anglican preachers who practiced the gospel in a very systematic way, that is, they organized times of prayer, fasting and Bible reading during the week.
Their preaching in vulnerable places and among English workers won them such an audience that they started their own church.
Their rituals are simpler than those of the Anglican Church and they criticized the elitism of that religion.

 Pentecostals

 Emerged in the 19th century in the United States through Christian movements that tried to save the spiritual manifestations of the first disciples of Jesus, such as the ability to prophesy, speak in unknown languages and heal the sick.
Although it is one of the newest denominations, it multiplied rapidly in other countries during the 20th century and in recent years it is one of the fastest growing evangelical denominations, especially in Latin America.
This denomination currently has several subdivisions, which also vary from country to country, but can generally be classified as classical Pentecostals with conservative liturgy and customs, and Neo-Pentecostals with more modern characteristics.